Making fantasy football lineup decisions can be incredibly frustrating or incredibly rewarding; it all depends on how often you get it correct. Here to help you make those decisions are our positional start ’em and sit ’em picks.
Fantasy decisions are more important than ever with playoff spots and playoff positioning on the line, so let’s look at our Week 12 start/sit plays for the TE position.
Which TEs Should You Start in Fantasy This Week?
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns (at DEN)
The Denver Broncos may be vastly improved defensively, but one area where they continue to struggle is against tight ends. No team allows more than the 16.5 PPG the Broncos yield to the position.
Over the past five weeks, David Njoku has hit double-digit fantasy points in every game. There’s a nonzero chance he’s the only tight end to accomplish that feat over that span. Most impressively, he’s done it with three different quarterbacks.
MORE: Week 12 Start/Sit Options — QB | RB | WR
Last week, Njoku saw an incredible 15 targets from Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The towering pass catcher only caught seven of them for 56 yards, but I don’t really care what his efficiency is if he’s seeing 15 targets.
Njoku’s last three games came against defenses that are very good against the position, and now he gets one that isn’t. 28.3% of the Broncos’ total receiving yards allowed have gone to the tight end position. Njoku is a must-start this week.
Which TEs Should You Sit in Fantasy This Week?
Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens (at LAC)
In Week 1, Likely filled in for Andrews and saw exactly one target. Last Thursday night, Andrews went down in the first quarter. Likely was the primary tight end for the rest of the game, but he saw just two targets.
Talent matters. Likely is far from a terrible player, but he’s not Andrews. He’s not good enough to command targets at the expense of the team’s wide receivers the way Andrews is.
I would love for Likely to prove me wrong, and if it were ever going to happen, it would be this week against a Chargers defense allowing the third-most PPG to the position.
Luke Musgrave couldn’t take advantage of the soft matchup last week. I don’t think Likely will, either.
Trending Searches for TE Start/Sit
Did you know that we have a Start/Sit Optimizer here at Pro Football Network?! It’s completely free to use, and it allows you to enter up to six players to find the best option to plug into your starting lineup!
It also allows us to see the most popular trending searches, and we’ve jotted some of them down here to help provide some clarity on!
Should You Start David Njoku or Isaiah Likely?
Sometimes, the start/sit decisions can be pretty straightforward. That doesn’t mean they’ll be correct, but it at least makes them a bit easier to decide.
I’ve got Njoku in the start column and Likely in the sit column. I think you know where this is headed.
MORE: Fantasy News Tracker
The Start/Sit Optimizer has Likely projected for 8.6 fantasy points, 1.0 more than Njoku. That is a surprise to me. While both have good matchups, I don’t think the talent level is particularly close.
Of course, volume is king. If we knew Likely would see upwards of a 15% target share, I would go in that direction. But talent commands volume, and I don’t think Likely has the talent to command the volume necessary to be a worthwhile fantasy start. I am starting Njoku, and it’s not particularly close for me.
Should You Start Isaiah Likely or Jake Ferguson?
This one is surprisingly close in the Start/Sit Optimizer. Jake Ferguson is projected for 8.8 points, just 0.2 more than Likely. Much like with Njoku, I don’t have this as that difficult.
Ferguson’s matchup against the Commanders isn’t great, as they struggle mightily to defend wide receivers. However, Ferguson is still the third option in the Cowboys passing attack. He’s always in play to score a touchdown.
I have Ferguson ranked as my TE8 on the week, with Likely down at TE19. Again, this doesn’t guarantee that Ferguson will outscore Likely, but as you can see, it’s not even remotely close in my weekly rankings.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!
